Forever Forgotten
by goldenmushroom
Summary: Maysilee has lost her mother and she is reaped for the Hunger Games despite the Peace Keeper's promise. Read on as Maysilee and Haymitch come together but are ripped apart not by death, but by an even more powerful force. This is Maysilee Donner's story from our point of view. My friend and I will be alternating writing chapters. Rated T to be safe!
1. Chapter 1: The boy

**Author's Note**

**Hi everyone!**

**As promised, here is Forever Forgotten. (Finally!)**

**My name is Gemma and I will be writing the first chapter of this story. :D My friend, Jasmine, will write the next and then I the next and so on. ;)**

**I thought since this is your first time meeting us, you'd like to get an idea of who we are so that you can picture us when we PM you or whatever you like to do so I'm going to describe Jasmine's looks to you and what she's like and I hope she will do the same for me next chapter! ;P**

**Jasmine has long, straight, beautiful blonde hair. Her eyes are bright green and she is average height for a 14 year old. She is a little bit crazy sometimes but that's why we love her! She is thin and tanned and she is a really good gymnast. She is writing a Peter Pan fanfiction that is absolutely brilliant and her pen name is moonshroom420. She is a truly beautiful girl with a kind heart and I am very happy to be writing this fanfiction with her! ;) She is my bestest ever friend and I love her with all my heart!**

**Love you Jasmine!**

**We both really appreciate reviews!**

**On with the first chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 1:

The hot summer sun beats down on my blonde hair as I cross the street into the cool, sweet shop of district twelve. I gasp in relief as the cool air, hinted with the smell of sugar, hits my face. The bell at the top of the door tinkles as I enter and my father looks up from the desk, smiling at me.

"Hi, Maysilee." But his smile doesn't reach his eyes. I remember fleetingly the day we found out my mother was dead. He had looked just like this.

_A teacher pulled my twin sister, Nikaela, and I out of class that day._

"_Your father is here to pick you up early," the teacher told us._

_She escorted us out of the school and out the front where dad was waiting for us._

"_What's up dad?" Nikki asked and something in her voice suggested she sensed there was something wrong. _

_He smiled but it did not reach his eyes. "There's no time to explain now!" he said, falsely cheery._

_We followed our father back to the shop, whispering nervously._

"_What do you think is going on?" I asked my sister quietly._

"_I don't know, May. I think there might be something wrong with dad."_

_When we walked through the doors, I grabbed hold of my sister's jacket to stop her from going further into the shop. Men in white jackets with helmets to cover their faces stood amongst the coloured shelves. Peace Keepers._

"_Dad, what's going on?" Nikki asked slowly. The Peace Keepers come regularly to check we're doing the right thing in the store but something about the way they held their guns was ominous._

_Two of them came in behind us and held our hands behind our backs._

_One of the Peace Keepers already in the shop lifted the helmet off his head. His hair was grey and his face was lined. He grinned maliciously. "Your mother… has had a… tragic accident." He told us in a failed attempt at sympathy. My belly twisted. Rage built up inside of me and I wanted to cry and scream._

_I struggled. "What did you do to her?" I screamed at them._

"_Our job," growled the helmetless Peace Keeper. All of the guns were pointed at us. "Your mother was incredibly foolish. She thought she could out smart us; get her children out of the Games."_

_I struggled with all my might but the Peace Keeper was too strong. "Where is she?" I asked them, pouring all of my hatred into the words. When I got no answer I yelled, "Tell me where she is!"_

_Silent tears were pouring down my father's face as he whispered, "Maysilee, she's gone." He let out a choked sob._

"_What?" I screeched at him. Then turning on the Peace Keepers, "You killed her! You sick, twisted…" A hand was clamped over my mouth so the rest of my words were muffled. Grey Hair laughed a cold, merciless laugh._

"_We're willing to make a deal."_

_I stopped struggling._

_Nikaela's head snapped up from the bowed position it had been occupying. "What do you want from us?"_

"_If you make this out as a tragic accident and keep it quiet… we will make sure neither of your girls enters the Hunger Games."_

_I gasped. It was every parents dream to have their children safe from the Capitol's games. _

_The Hunger Games was punishment for the rebellion when all thirteen districts came together to rebel against the Capitol. District thirteen was destroyed and as a reminder never to try to overthrow them again, the Hunger Games were introduced._

_Annually, two children (a boy and a girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen) from every district are picked to be thrown into an arena with each other and fight to the death. Only one ever comes out. Every twenty-fifth Hunger Games is called a Quarter Quell. The Game Makers put a nasty twist on the games to make it harder on the tributes or their families._

_I could see the battle raging in my father's eyes. A flame flickered deep within. Was it hope? Hope that we may survive until we're eighteen? Hope is something everyone is starved of in district twelve. At the same time, water attempts to quench that fire and I know what he's thinking. What if they can't do it? If we came out and told everyone the truth we would all be dead. I tore my eyes away from his and he cleared his throat._

_My father's eyes slowly rose to meet the Peace Keeper's. "I accept," he said, in a defeated voice. Anger seemed to rise up and his voice shook dangerously as he said, "But if you EVER… break your end of the deal, overnight the whole district will know what happened to Kayla."_

_Grey Hair laughed again. "I think you know what will happen if you break your end of the deal."_

_And we did. _

_It wasn't until the Peace Keeper that was holding me let go that I realised he had been keeping me standing up. My knees gave way and I slumped to the ground, covering my face so that the Peace Keepers couldn't see the tears now streaming out of my eyes._

_Nikaela walked over and knelt beside me, hugging me and resting her cheek on my head, trying to comfort me as her tears dripped onto my neck and ran down my shoulder under my shirt. Dad came over and knelt down beside both of us. He pulled us into a three-way hug that was short lived as Grey Hair kicked the legs out from under my father making him fall onto the ground. Grey Hair laughed and this time it sounded maniacal._

_I made to jump up, fully intending on hitting Grey Hair as hard as I could but felt my sister's restraining hand on my shoulder._

_We slept in the same bed that night, my sister and I. Her hands were tangled in my own mess of long, golden hair. A sisterly bond made stronger by a tragedy that changed our lives forever._

I shake myself out of my daydream. Now, two years on, we are 16. It is the second Quarter Quell this year and a couple of months ago, the President announced that they would require double the amount of tributes from the districts. Double the amount of tributes, double the amount of deaths, double the amount of broken families. What a wonderful way to remind us not to rebel against the Capitol. We are just pawns in their game. I shudder as I remember there is a chance that my sister and I could get reaped together, faced with killing each other to survive.

Tomorrow is reaping day so it is natural for my father to be worried. Everyone is.

"Hi Dad."

"How was school?"

"It was fine."

"Good."

"How was work?"

"Good, good."

I walk to the back of the shop and through the store room door.

"Nik, I'm home!"

"Maysilee! You're late!" Nikaela's voice sounds from somewhere hidden in the rows of shelves holding files. Ever since my mother died, Nikaela feels as if she needs to act like my mother even though I'm older than her by one and a half minutes.

"I'm not even that late! Calm down!"

"Come on in! I want you to meet someone."

The store room is crowded with shelves and desks. It is poorly lighted and a lamp that is held to the ceiling by a spare shoelace is the only source of light. Its shade causes it to cast a greenish light over everything but it is dim and it takes my eyes a second to adjust to the darkness.

Walking slowly through the shelves I spot her, her back turned towards me and her extremely long, blonde hair falls like a waterfall down her back.

"Hey."

She jumps and spins around, her grey-blue eyes peering through the cloud of dust she disturbed. "Gosh! You scared me! Don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry. Who did you want me to meet?"

"Oh." She paused and cupped her hands to her mouth and called into the open space. "Justin!"

"Coming, Nikki!" A strong, male voice calls from my right. The sound of someone squeezing through shelves reaches my ears and I raise my eyebrows at Nikaela and she smiles. "Justin" mustn't have the slight build that my sister and I have.

He emerges through the gloom and I take a step back as I struggle process what I am seeing. A tall, well-muscled man walks over to my sister and slides his hand around her hips and kisses the top of her head while Nikaela grins sheepishly. I stand there, stunned for a moment before I realise that I have my mouth hanging open.

"Nice to meet you, Justin," I say as politely as possible and try not to stare. I can't tell if he's handsome or not because of the dark.

"Justin has offered to help us clean out some of the junk in here."

"That's nice." I tremble, feeling very self-conscious. There is an awkward silence. "Well… I'll be happy to help out but after tomorrow is over. I'm going over to Kaitlin's, ok?"

"That's fine, May. Make sure you wish Kaitlin luck for tomorrow for me! Tell her I'm a little busy." She reached up on tip toes to give Justin a quick kiss. Luck. Our sweet shop does very well with the Peace Keepers. All of them can afford to waste their money on sugar. They don't starve. They don't have to wonder whether they will have enough food to survive until tomorrow. And neither do we. We have enough money and we have never been starving. That's us. That's the definition of "luck" in District twelve.

I wave my hand over my head in acknowledgement of her words and continue to slip through the shelves.

"Wow! You two look alike!" I hear Justin say as I walk out the door.

"No we don't," Nikaela says. She always gets offended when people say we look alike… and in truth… we don't. "We don't look anything alike. It's just the gloom."

It's also always Nikaela who gets the boys. She never really pays attention to them but they fall at her feet. She could have any boy she wanted. Boys don't even look twice at me. Sometimes I wonder why. Adults always tell me how beautiful I am and people comment on my soft, golden curls a lot. But no boys ever seem to take an interest in me. It's like I'm invisible. That's ok with me though. I like to be invisible. I'm very good at sneaking up on people and I don't really have a huge interest in boys at the moment anyway.

People often say we look alike because we have the same nose and mouth but you can easily tell us apart. Nikaela has blonde hair that falls in waves over her shoulders and stops at her lower back. She has eyes that change colour depending on the light. She likes to say they change colour with her mood but they don't really. They are grey-green one day, grey the next and grey-blue the next. But my hair is a darker blonde than hers that is often described as golden. I have gentle curls that roll down my back and stop about midway. My eyes are a light brown.

I have arrived at Kaitlin's house so I knock on her door. She opens it straight away as if she has been waiting for me by the door and flings her arms around my neck and pulls me into a tight hug. Kaitlin has been Nikaela and my best friend since before I can remember. Her parents run the Apothecary in District twelve. I envy her. She has a range of knowledge of all different health care products and she gets to feel as if she is doing something to help her district. Only the merchants can afford to buy sweets from our store and sweets don't help anyone anyway.

"Where's Nikki?" Kaitlin asks.

"Oh! She's busy with her new _boyfriend!" _I wrinkle my nose playfully.

"Ooo! What's his name?"

"Justin," I say giving her a smug smile.

"Is he handsome?"

"I don't know!" I hit her playfully on the shoulder.

"Come in! I want you to tell me all about him!"

I sigh exasperatedly and walk inside. She pushes the door shut behind me and takes my hand, running up the stairs to her room her white-blonde hair flying behind her. We sit down on her bed cross-legged and facing each other.

"So, what's he like?" She pesters me.

"He's… Kind of cute… I guess… I couldn't really see him properly but he looks pretty muscly."

"Yay!"

"Oh My Gosh, Kaitlin! You're so weird!"

She giggles. "That's what they tell me!"

"How could you be happy on a day like this?"

"That day isn't today, it's tomorrow!" She said, her eyes shining. "Besides, we haven't had to apply for tesserae!"

"That doesn't mean we won't get picked! Come one, Kaitlin! Be serious for once!"

Kaitlin's mouth pulls into a kind of tight smirk as she struggles not to smile. That's just her I guess… always smiling. I sigh. It seems to attract boys even more than her looks. She leans over and hugs me tightly.

"Cheer up! Let's have fun on what might be the last happy day of our lives!" She says, jumping off her bed nimbly and pulling me off the bed, holding my hand firmly.

Racing down the stairs, my hand still clamped tightly in her grip, I felt strangely free and light as if the reaping had passed and everyone was safe… well… almost everyone. On reaping day, no one can deny that sense of guilt that they weren't affected but other families were. But you're just so relieved you're able to push that away and get on with your life. Until next year when the same worry and angst grips you as the district escort searches the ball of slips of names and plucks one out, walking ever so slowly back to the microphone to call an innocent child to their death.

We run out the door, only half acknowledging Mrs Sharp's startled cry, "Where on earth do you think you're off to?"

Down the street we dance, skipping and running, skipping and running. I look around as we bounce down the street and stop and my stomach flips strangely. Kaitlin lets out a startled cry as her hand is yanked back. She stops and looks around. "What's wrong?"

She follows my gaze and lets out a gasp as she sees what stopped me. A boy of about 18 is swinging an axe at a stump in front of the rundown orphanage. His dark hair is plastered to his forehead with sweat and as we watch, he flicks it out of his eyes in one fluid motion. He is shirtless and as he lifts the axe high above his head, I suddenly notice the fine ripple of muscles below his tan skin.

"Oooh! Maysilee noticed a boy!" Kaitlin waves her hand in front of my face, taunting me.

I push it away. "Yeah, whatever," and trying not to look like I care I say, "Let's keep going!"

My suggestion alerts the boy. He looks over smiling widely. "Hey, girls."

My face burns hot and I look at the ground. Kaitlin nudges me.

"Hi!" she waves excitedly at him but he doesn't even glance at her. To my horror he starts to make his way towards us.

"Oh my gosh! Let's just get out of here!" I whisper urgently.

"No! This will be fun!"

He's in ear shot now so we stop talking. "Maysilee Donner, right?" He says, smiling his wide, slightly crooked smile.

"Uh, yeah… How do you know who I am?" I ask, terrified that he still hadn't looked at Kaitlin. Maybe he is partially blind.

"I've seen you around." He says simply, shrugging his nonchalance.

"Right… Well, what's your name?"

"Oh? Hahaha! I would rather not say."

"Why not?" I ask, curious now.

"I don't like to go around giving my name to total strangers."

"But we're not total strangers! You know my name and I don't know yours! How is that fair?"

"I didn't say it was." He says, beaming even wider.

I sigh exasperatedly. He starts to back away and a terror grips me. What if I never see him again?

"Wait!" I say, horrified that my voice sounds so high.

"Haha! I'm not going anywhere sweetheart."

Embarrassed I look at the ground.

"So you're sixteen, right?"

"Yeah."

Wondering why Kaitlin hasn't said anything yet, I look around nervously but she's gone.

"Hey." He clicks his fingers to make me look at him. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

My head snaps around to face him, I'm startled. "Of course. But will I see you?"

"We'll see."

Before I could stop myself, my mouth broke into a wide grin. "I betta go. I don't know where my friend went. I should probably find her."

"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour!" He says in a mock Capitol accent then laughs ironically.

I laugh too. "And yours."

Turning away, I search the track for Kaitlin but I can't find her. I turn back, half expecting to see him still there but he's gone. He's not even at the stump anymore. He has disappeared completely. I fight disappointment as it washes over me and I decide to head home.

Walking home, I struggle to understand the boy's motives. No boy would ever choose to talk to me over Kaitlin. Most boys treat me like I'm invisible. But this boy… he saw _me_! It was like Kaitlin wasn't there at all.

I walk through the door of the shop and once again, marvel at the coolness as it hits my face.

I can hear Kaitlin's distinctive, upbeat voice coming from the store room. She is describing the encounter with "the boy."

"Why is that surprising?" Justin asks, curiously. "Don't all girls like guys who are muscly?"

"Not May," Nikki sighs.

"What? Does she like scrawny fellas or something?"

"No! She just isn't interested in boys that much. She prefers to 'focus on her school work'," Kaitlin says, imitating me in a lofty voice. "She thinks that guys take no notice of her but she just shuts them out!"

"She could have any boy she wanted." Nikki agrees.

Touched by their compliments, I turn the door knob quietly and enter the room.

"Hi, May!" Nikki's voice is strained as if she's trying to sound happy but the worry of the reaping is crushing her vocal chords. She is sitting on the spinning chair next to the desk and Kaitlin and Justin are leaning on the desk talking to her.

"Hey. I suppose Kaitlin told you." I say, gesturing numbly at Kaitlin.

"She sure did!" Kaitlin says proudly. Despite myself, I laugh at Kaitlin's comment. She grins at me. "You have such a pretty laugh, May! You should really use it more often."

Nikki made a sound of agreement.

"Well! I think my work here is done! Make sure you tell me all the details when tomorrow's over!" She winks in a sassy way and struts over to the door, opening it and vanishing through it, calling as she goes, "Good luck tomorrow, everyone!"

The room suddenly becomes very awkward without Kaitlin's presence. Justin clears his throat, "I should probably get going."

"Sure," Nikki says and she leans up to peck him on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course!" He says, smiling at her. I fight the urge to gag as a joke to make my sister insecure about the way she acts around him. That is not a ladylike thing to do! I can hear my mother saying so in my head.

"Good luck tomorrow, girls!" He says as he strides out the door.

My eyes find my sister and I stare at her through the gloom. My face slowly breaks out into a grin as I silently taunt her about Justin.

"Oh stop it!" Nikki says, blushing furiously.

I giggle.

"Stop!" and after a pause, "I can tease you about that boy you met today, you know."

I stop laughing and stare at her. Then I say, shocked, "You wouldn't!"

"I would. What's his name anyway?"

I pause as I consider making one up, "I don't know," I say, staring at a few ants crawling past my shoe.

"You don't know?"

And I find myself repeating the whole encounter to her in a gush of words I am surprised she can understand.

"Oh that's so cute!" Nikki exclaims when I am finished. "You've finally taken interest in a boy that has a thing for you!"

"He doesn't have a thing for me! How do you come to that conclusion from _that _conversation?"

"Oh… I just know," She shrugs vaguely and the twinkle in her eye causes me to boil up with excitement and frustration.

"What… were there signs in that conversation? Or something?" I ask excitedly.

"Look, May, I'll let you figure it out by yourself but it's getting late and we should really be going up to dinner."

So we walked up into the shop and then up the back stairs to our little flat above the shop.

We emerge through the door just as Dad yells, "Dinner's ready!"

"Good timing!" We say in unison. Then we giggle as we make our way over to our kitchen table. One Valentine's Day, there was a huge influx of sweet buyers and Dad could afford to buy us a real, mahogany wood kitchen table.

"Oh Dad!" Nikki squeals as she sees the meal sitting on the table. "That smells amazing!"

"You've gone out of your way tonight, Dad!" I agree.

"Well… It's a special night," he says modestly.

Before me is a warm salad with pieces of toasted bread soaked in olive oil tossed through vegetables and sliced pieces of lamb.

I pull out a chair and sit down to eat and the aromas make it hard to think about anything else except eating. Putting the first mouthful in my mouth I nearly drool on the table.

"Dad! How much did this cost?" Nikki asks incredulously through her first mouthful of salad. Her hair falls into her face as she leans over her plate struggling not to drop lamb from her mouth into her lap.

"Too much," Dad sighes.

"Well it's very good!" I say as a tender piece of lamb melts on my tongue.

When dinner is over we sit there for another half hour, talking and trying to keep the mood light.

Dad gets up and starts to clear the table but I stop his arm halfway to my plate. "No dad. We can do it. You made this all by yourself so we can make a contribution. Come on, Nikki!"

I stand up and am about to take the stacked plates to the kitchen when my father speaks, "No girls. I'll clean up! I want you both to get some sleep tonight!" His eyes are dark with worry and his eyebrows have knitted themselves into an anxious frown.

"We're not going to get any sleep anyway, Dad." I say, shaking my head slightly.

"Yeah! No one sleeps the night before the reaping!" Nikki backs me up.

Dad sighs. "Oh alright! Clean up then, you silly girls," he says with a small smile.

After we have cleaned up the kitchen, we make our way up to our bedroom. We get changed and slide into our beds which are singles on opposite sides of the room.

"Maysilee?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?"

"Sleep?"

"Lie."

"Sure." I slide over and pull back the covers so she can squeeze in.

"Thank you." She shivers. It's not cold. In fact it's very hot and muggy as usual.

A sudden thought occurs to me. "Nikaela?"

"Yeah?" She whispers.

"If we get-"

"We won't." She knew what I was thinking straight away. We are very in touch with each other's feelings.

"But if we-"

"We won't. It won't happen. It's impossible."

I prop myself up on my elbow and look down at her. "No, it's not. It _is_ possible. And… if I get picked alone… You – "

"Can't volunteer? _Ha._ I knew what you were going to say before you opened your mouth." She sighs. "But I can't promise I won't."

I start to panic. My heart beats three times its normal speed. "What? Nikaela, you have to promise me!" I whisper urgently. "I can't lose you."

"I can't lose you."

"But – I couldn't live if you weren't here!"

"Neither could I if you weren't here. You can't volunteer for me, though."

"What? How is that fair?" I'm almost spitting on her now. She's so stubborn!

"I didn't say it was fair. That's just how it's going to be."

Finally realising she won't give up, I sigh exasperatedly and attempt to calm myself. "Let's make a deal. Either I CAN volunteer for you and you CAN volunteer for me or I CAN'T volunteer for you and you CAN'T volunteer for me. Choose one."

"Fine. We can't volunteer for each other then."

"Good." I let out a fast breath of relief.

Light bathes the room as the door opens "I love you baby girls!" Dad's voice comes from the doorway.

"Goodnight, Dad!" We chorus.

I wake around four-thirty and try to make myself go back to sleep. Nikaela is sleeping soundly beside me, her chest rising and falling slowly. After a while, I find that that's all sleep has for me for tonight and I slip out of bed, trying not to wake Nikki.

Staying in my pyjamas, I leave the house and walk down the street. I don't pay attention to where my feet take me but I finally arrive where I suspected I was going. I'm looking at the run down orphanage I saw the boy swinging the axe in front of yesterday.

I inhale deeply and exhale loudly, replaying the day's events in my mind. I jump as a voice whispers in my ear.

"You just keep coming to see me don't you, sweetheart?"

I spin around and see "the boy" standing extremely close to me so we're almost touching. My heart flutters as I notice he's shirtless again. I can feel his breath on my cheek so I shiver and step back.

"No. I'm not here to see you." I start feeling very self-conscious about my pyjamas so I cross my arms over my chest.

"Then why are you here of all places if it's not to see me?" His dark eyes twinkle and I find my knees buckle if I look into them for too long.

"I – I – I don't know why I'm here. I'm on a night walk." I struggle to pull my face into a convincing expression.

"Right." He says and I can tell he doesn't believe me. He smirks at me.

"Well, I should get back inside."

Before I can stop myself I ask him quickly, "Are you worried about tomorrow?"

"Sure." Snarky and arrogant. How can I even talk to this boy?

"Then how come you don't seem worried?" I feel desperate. I need to try to get to know him.

He shrugs it off as if to show he doesn't care.

He sounds almost as if he's trying to pull himself back to his usual charm as he says, "I'm going inside now, sweetheart."

I shrug as if I don't care but I do. I really do. I want him to stay and talk to me forever but I turn away and start to walk back the direction I came from.

"See? Now you're going away because I'm not here to talk to anymore!"

"I need to get home!" I turn around and see him standing in the doorway of the orphanage with a little boy by his side. "It has nothing to do with you!"

And I keep walking. My heart is beating hard against my ribcage and I can hear it as if it's in my head.

I hear the little boy ask, "Who's that?"

Then Haymitch speaks, "No one special."

I stiffen as my heart stops but I keep walking. Of course he doesn't care about me! What was I thinking?

I make it home before I realise that I had been running. I smile at myself. _Act normal._

It's about five-thirty so Dad is up and about. I creep upstairs trying not to feel sad.

"Nikaela! Get up! We have to look nice for the reaping!" I yell as I open the door.

Nikaela is already up and standing in front of our mirror. She is wearing a pale green dress that matches her eyes today. She turns around.

"Maysilee! Where have you been?" She looks worried.

"I went for a walk."

"I didn't know where you were." She says quietly.

I ignore her worried comment and say "You look amazing, Nik."

"Thanks. But you don't. Can I do your hair once you're dressed?"

"Sure." I say. Anything to get her off my back about where I went.

I pull out a pair of cut off jean shorts and a white top and start to get changed until Dad comes in and stops me.

"No. I want you to wear this today."

He is holding up a white dress.

"Oh Dad! Please! Can't I just wear – "

"Try it on. You'll like it."

So I walk into the bathroom and try it on. The dress falls just past my knee and flows around my legs loosely. It's a silken material and has wide straps and a low neckline. Even I have to admit it's a beautiful dress. It was my mother's.

I walk out and Nikaela gasps, "You look beautiful!" she cries. "You look just like –" she paused as realisation dawns, "Mum."

Dad smiles at me. "You do." He agrees. "A spitting image."

"Thank you." Everyone in the district knew my mother. And whenever I went anywhere after her death, people would give their greatest sympathies and tell me how beautiful she was. To be told I look just like her is a huge compliment.

"Come on! I want to do your hair!"

Dad leaves the room and Nikki grabs my arm and leads me over to the mirror. She uses bobby pins to pin my front curls up behind my head but leaves the rest down. She brushes the rest and I grunt as the comb gets stuck in the knots.

Once she is done, she insists on putting make-up on me. I protest but it's no use.

She stands back to look at her job and gasps. "You look – stunning!" She squeals spinning me around to face the mirror. And she's right. I do look very nice indeed. I have just the right amount of eye make-up on and it makes my brown eyes look very pretty. I have a light amount of foundation on that just evens out my skin in a way you wouldn't notice unless you were really looking. I already have red cheeks so I don't need blush.

"Thank you!" I say and I really mean it.

We arrive at the town square where the justice building stands ready to admit the reaped children. A stage has been set up with two empty chairs and a microphone.

Our escort, Prinny Suncatcher is already standing on the stage chatting animatedly to district twelve's only victor, Twinkle South. He looks ancient with his sunken eyes and waxy face. His white hair hangs limply around his face and his air of unkemptness only heightens my sympathy for the reaped children. He's probably a Morphling Addict. I find myself wondering if anyone ever comes out of the arena. His appearance pales in comparison to Prinny's. Her hair is a shimmering gold that sits high on her head like a beehive. Her eyes are covered in gold make up and silver and gold tattoos spiral from her eyes. Her neck is covered in glimmering purple and gold flower tattoos and she catches the sunlight making it look like she shines from within, just like her name.

Nikki and I walk up to the table where we are to sign in. A Peace Keeper glances at me and says, looking back down at her paper, "Name?"

"Maysilee Donner."

"Hand."

I give her my hand and try my best not to wince as the needle is stuck into my finger. A bead of blood appears and the Peace Keeper steers my hand towards the blank box across from my name and smudges the blood into the box roughly.

"Next!"

I move away and watch as Nikki has the same done to her. What a horrible way to sign a contract! Sign in blood that you promise to die in the Hunger Games if you are chosen.

Now we say goodbye to Dad and hug and kiss him in turn. He has started to cry and I try to comfort him but it's no use. There is no comfort. Not today.

We arrive at the roped off area where the sixteen year olds stand so we slip under the rope and stand among our classmates. I scan the crowd but there is no sign of "the boy". Feeling disappointed, I turn back to the stage. I feel Kaitlin squeeze in on my other side and touch my hand to let me know she's there.

Our mayor does his usual presentation about how the Hunger Games is an annual reminder of the rebellion and the pain it caused. Then he shows us a video, the same one every year. Snippets of past tributes becoming victors and images of smoking buildings that were caused by the rebellion are playing on a large projector screen beside the stage.

I feel hugely relieved as the video ends and Prinny stands up from her seat and heads towards the microphone. There is a deathly silence as she approaches, high heels clicking menacingly on the wooden stand.

She clears her throat in a dainty way before announcing. _Ahem. _"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be EVER in your favour!" Her annoying, high-pitched voice seems to physically pierce the silence like a needle breaking the skin and beside me, Nikaela shudders. "Ah! Lady's first, shall we say?" Her high heels click ominously in the silence as she makes her way over to the glass ball containing slips of paper reading every child over twelve and under eighteen's names.

She takes her time plucking at slips and dropping them back in, swirling them around and plunging her many ringed hand back in, enjoying the collective gasps from the crowd as she grabs a slip as if that was to be the one. Finally she decides on one, and makes her way, painstakingly slowly, to the microphone.

My heart beats hard and fast as she opens the slip of paper in front of the microphone, relishing the crinkle that rings throughout the square. The tension of the crowd is paramount. No one moves. No one speaks. No one breathes. I stand stiff with apprehension even though I know Nikaela and I are safe. A voice in the back of my head screams, _If the Peace Keeper's keep their word. _Now I find I am gripping Kaitlin and Nikki's hands close to me and hugging them closely. Praying that it won't be one of us, I stare at the pavement, waiting for Prinny to read the name.

I hold my breath and stand as still as I can as I sense more than see Prinny opening her mouth to call a district twelve girl to her death.

* * *

**Author's Note!**

**Hey everyone!**

**What did you think of the first chapter? I know it's longer than what I usually write and I wouldn't be expecting them to all be this long but I thought this first chapter was important to make a good first impression you know? :P Please tell me what you thought of it in a review because both Jasmine and I really really appreciate them! :D Hahahaha If you didn't already figure this out, Nikaela is a lot like Jasmine. Not in personality as such, but in her looks I picture them to be almost identical except Nikaela is a bit older than us. Kaitlin is Jasmine's personality I think, so them combined is what Jasmine is like. Ahahahaha and Maysilee is just like me. I think she has the same personality and I have been trying to write from what I would do in situations because it seems more real don't you think? Oh and also, Jasmine struggles to write really lengthy chapters and if you want hers to be longer than 1000 words then drop a review and she'll feel like she needs to just for you! XD**

**Gemma (GoldenDiva/ GD)**


	2. Chapter 2: The Reaping

**Hey guys!**

**This is Jasmine with Chapter 2 of Forever Forgotten!**

**I bagsed the reaping before we even started, just so you know.**

**I will TRY to do longish chapters, but if any of you have looked at my Peter Pan FanFic, you will **

**notice that my limit is around 1000. But, reviews will change that, and every review will motivate **

**me to write more for you. Have fun reading this chapter, but it will be significantly worse than **

**Gemma's.**

**Speaking of Gemma, I am going to do a description of her;**

**Gemma has bouncy curls that start at the roots as darkish brown and then works its way to bright **

**blond it the tips, having every shade imaginable in between those different colours. Her eyes are **

**darky-lightish brown, kind of like a friendly horses eyes and very pretty. She has permanently rosy **

**cheeks and is the best swimmer that I have met in my life-time. Her T-shirts don't normally fit **

**because she has very muscly shoulders. Luv u Gemma and sorry if you don't like the description! **

**Just being honest :P.**

**Anyway, here is chapter 2!**

**Chapter 2**

"Aster Charter!"

A little girl with two chocolate-brown braids starts out of the sixteen-year-old section. She manages to maintain a cool smirk all the way up to the stage. From where Kaitlin, Nikaela and I are standing, she looks about twelve.

Prinny thrusts the microphone into her face as Aster takes her place on the stage. Prinny at once starts to fire questions at her, almost pushing the little girl off the stage with the microphone.

It soon becomes clear that she is being deliberately loud to cover up the sobs of a woman to the left of the sixteen sections. I stretch around to see who it was.

The lady looks just like Aster, but her hair is left out and flowing around her tear-stained face. She mustn't have taken her eyes off Aster since the girl got on the stage.

Suddenly Nikaela pulls me back into line. When I look at her with a contemptuous expression on my face, she motions to stay quiet. Then she subtly points to a couple of Peacekeepers training their guns on me. I gulp, imagining the popularity in the Capitol of a shooting during the Quarter Quell reaping. I aim my eyes down and stand rigid. The guns trail away from my head, and I realise I am holding my breath.

I take a few deep breaths, then concentrate back on the reaping. Prinny is headed over to the boys bowl.

_What? There are two girls this year. Why wouldn't she do them both at once?  
_

"Suspense," Nikaela whispers, as though she can read my thoughts "She doesn't want anybody to feel safe."

Prinny has reached the boys bowl, and is digging around. She pulls out a name from the bottom of the bowl, and then clicks back over to the microphone, unfurling the neat piece of paper as she goes.

All the boys around the square take in a tiny collective gasp; every one of them hoping beyond reason that it won't be them.

Prinny sweeps her eyes over the crowd, and then purrs the name into the microphone, "Haymitch, Abernathy." She pauses during the name, enjoying the alarm flaring in the eyes of all the Haymitch's in the crowd. But only one responds, and I gasp when I see it is "the boy."

He seemingly hasn't changed since I met him; same swaggering walk, same smirking mouth but he is now wearing a shirt.

I exchange glances with Kaitlin, and I know what her face will show before I see it. She looks at me sadly, silently telling me not to worry and that I don't even know him. Heck, I had just found out what his name was! But I am worrying because I know I already care for him in some odd way and for unknown reasons.

Haymitch stubbornly ignores Prinny's bullet-like questions and just saunters off to the other side of the stage behind the boys' reaping ball. He actually just looks pissed off at her. Prinny shoots an angry look at him, and turns back to the boys' ball. She is doing the reaping in a weird order, going girl, boy, boy, girl. The gold-wigged Capitolite snags the first name she finds in her long, shimmering nails and stalks back to the microphone.

"And the last boy entering the 50th Hunger Games Quarter Quell is-"She pauses to open the little slip, "Austen Everdeen!"

A pained cry comes from the sixteen year old boys' section and I see a sturdily built boy with a mop of blonde-brown hair pulling out of the eighteen sections and become really confused.

_Are there two Austen Everdeens?_

My question is answered as the boy from the sixteen sections wrapped his arms around the boy heading for the stage. "You can't go Austen! Mother and I won't be able to survive without you!"

Austen bends and whispers something to the boy, who is obviously his brother. The boy nods in understanding and looks a little better. Whatever Austen has told him, it has calmed him down a little.

I crane my neck to see the sixteen year old boy when I catch sight of Kaitlin's face. She looks utterly distressed and her eyes are trying to follow Austen and his brother at the same time. I lean over and whisper to her. "Do you know him?"

Kaitlin slowly turns to me, her face still frozen in horror and sadness. "The boy hugging him was James Everdeen, Austen's brother. He- he's my boyfriend. Austen was always so sweet to me whenever I went over there to see James. He is the main supplier for the family's food stores, but I don't know where he gets all the meat. James was never allowed to tell me where Austenwould disappear off to for hours on end and come back with a belt-full of rabbits. He and Zach Hawthorn were really close."

I remember Kaitlin mentioning James Everdeen a few times before and mentally promise to assist Kaitlin with helping the family if Austen doesn't come back.

I turn back to the stage where Austen and Haymitch are standing next to each other. I hate how the Games have already taken some special people away from just the three of us, let alone thedistrict. I remind myself once again that I don't even know Haymitch and that he shouldn't affect melike he does.

I am snapped out of my thoughts by Prinny's high heels clacking back across to the girls' reaping ball, smiling sadistically. I can't help thinking that Prinny is probably the most blood-thirsty escort ever.

I watch as she steadies her excited hands to pull out the last girl's name for the 50th Quarter Quell Hunger Games. I worry for Kaitlin, because she doesn't have any protection where as Nikaela and I have the word of the Peacekeepers.

"And the last female tribute is… Maysilee Donner!"

"NO! YOU PROMISED! YOU PROMISED YOU BASTARDS!"

I hear my Dad scream, but it is like he is under water. My legs feel weak as I cling to Nikki and Kaitlin. Suddenly there is a gun shot, and I hear my Dad yell in pain. I break away from my sister and best friend, trying to keep on my feet as I make my way towards the sounds of pain my father is making, panic tearing at my chest. Tears sting my eyes as I find him on the ground with blood pooling from his arm.

"Lousy shot, idiot." I hear a Peacekeeper rebuking the shooter, but I am thankful that he has missed any vital organs or made the wound too deep.

Time slows down as I tear a sleeve from my beautiful dress, regret tearing deeper into my heart with every thread

broken. I stare at the ripped fabric for a moment before the agonized sounds of my father reminds me why I have destroyed the dress in the first place.

Relaying what I had learned from Kaitlin about it, I recite the steps on tying a tourniquet aroundFather's bleeding arm. My tears start to flow down my cheeks and the wound is becoming blurry as I fight to stopthe salty beads.

I have just finished tying it when I am yanked up by two strong Peacekeepers and steered towards the stage and Prinny. Time speeds up and I try to look over my shoulder at Dad and Nikaela, forgetting the few minutes I have with them later.

I am pushed up the stairs and then I nearly swallow the microphone as Prinny shoves it in my face the moment I set foot on the stage. But instead of answering Prinny's questions or even looking at the crowd, I am transfixed by Haymitch's stare. He is staring murderously at Prinny, glints of firein his eyes reflects his inner turmoil. I can't quite peace together his sudden change ofcharacter. When he was called, it looked like he wasn't even ruffled. But now, Haymitch's face could have killed every tribute in the Games before the gong sounded. I notice him clenching and unclenching his fists, still giving mutinous glances at Prinny and even the camera crew stationed around the Justice Building.

_Was he TRYING to become a target?! What's his deal!_

I am fuming at Haymitch's foolishness and so I still don't answer any of Prinny's questions. I hear a Capitol reporter say that this was the quietest tributes District Twelve has offered.

_Offered,-my-ass! _I thought rudely. _There is no choice here!_

After Prinny tries to lead the District into a clap, and fails miserably, Peace Keepers escort us into the Justice building for our _"final goodbyes."_ I finally remember this as I am dumped into a sparsely, but still glamourously furnished room. I sit down on one of the love-seats in there, and await my first visitor.

As expected, Nikaela and Justin arrive first. My sister explains that Dad will be here soon, and then envelopes me in a tight hug (the kind she only uses in dire situations). Justin too, sits down on the love seat and hugs me gently. We aren't even acquaintances, but I guess in this kind of situation, it doesn't matter. Besides, Nikki would have done - something, if he hadn't. I try to enjoy both their hugs as much as possible, thinking this is the first and probably the last time I'll be hugged by an attractive guy. The next few I meet will probably be trying to hug me around the neck with a rope.

We sit like that until suddenly, Dad comes thumping through the door. His face is ragged and he has many more scratches than when I was with him mere minutes ago. The tourniquet is doing its job, and the blood flow has steadied so much that it is hardly there. He stumbles over and collapses into the seat next to me, promptly squashing Justin in the act. The muscly boy manages to squeeze out, and takes a place beside Nikaela, who looks like she is about to cry. We sit like that, all present arms reached out and comforting me in some way. Then the moment ends as a Peacekeeper yells from outside to _Move it or lose it!_

Nikki blows me a kiss, and Justin steers her out the door. Dad stays put for a few seconds and then leans over to me. "Come home darling. We'll be rooting for you."

He gets up and stumbles back out the door, leaving only his sweet scent behind. Kaitlin is my next visitor, and surprisingly, James is with her. I thought he would be saying goodbye to Austen, but realise that he must have been kicked out at the same time as Dad and Nikki. Kaity sits down, and starts relaying herbs and poultices to me as fast as she can; anything that may help me in the arena. James stands quietly to the side, not sitting, and with a determined look on his face.

Kaitlin finishes her lists, and stares at me with so much sadness it hurts. I wrap my arms around her, and feel Kaitlin gesture to James to come and join them. He slowly climbs into the tangle of our arms, his tension relaxing as our warmth calms him down. I am feeling worse for him than for myself, which is saying something.

"I promise; if I see Austen anywhere in the arena or beforehand, I will not do anything to harm him. Maybe we could even be in an alliance?"

James seems to relax even more, probably feeling better about being around someone who wouldn't harm his brother than when I was still a threat. I nearly laugh at the thought that I, little May, could even harm Austen Everdeen even if I wanted too!

**Authors Note:**

**I know that the reaping ****order doesn't match the book, and any criticism you have should be directed at me. But if you're ****gonna just complain because of something else or you reeaaallllyyyy don't like it, I don't want to ****hear it unless you can tell me a legit reason that is not mentioned in this A/N. And to those (hopefully everyone) who like the story so far, leave a review. Much ****appreciated!**

**Jasmine OUT!**


	3. Chapter 3: Insane?

**Author's Note**

**So… hey everyone! This is Gemma here with chapter 3 of Forever Forgotten.**

**I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update I've just been so busy… and… I've been a little unmotivated to write for some reason… :D I dunno why! I'll admit I have been waiting a little while to see if we got anymore reviews before continuing!**

**Anyways, I am starting the chapter now and I have no idea whether it will be long or short so just bear with me!**

**Here is the chapter! :D**

**Gemma**

* * *

Chapter 3:

I shiver as someone whispers in my ear, so close that their breath ruffles my hair. "Nik slipped me this as she left and we came in." Kaitlin tells me. She places something cold and hard firmly into my palm. "It's to keep you safe."

I pull away gently and look down at my hand. A small, golden brooch lies facing upwards on my palm; it's a MockingJay flying through a golden circle.

"It was your mother's." She whispered. The Jabberjay was a mutt that the Capitol had created. They used them in the rebellion to spy on the districts. The Jabberjays could relay full conversations to people in the Capitol so that the districts found it almost impossible to plan anything without being overheard. However, the people in the districts figured it out and started to give the Jabberjays fake information. The Jabberjays were a mutt that blew up in the Capitol's face and so they were released into the wild to die off. But they didn't. Instead they mated with Mockingbirds to create Mockingjays, a species the Capitol never wanted to exist. "Wear it as your token."

"Thank you!" I whisper gently and a tear escapes my welling eyes. I close my fingers tightly around the pin and stare at my clamped hand. I close my eyes and more tears are squeezed out of my eyes. My throat closes off and it aches as I fight not to sob. I feel rough hands gently prying open my fingers. I open my eyes in alarm as the pin leaves my hand.

James has taken the pin and handed it silently to Kaitlin. Kaitlin's pretty face is red, blotchy and tear-streaked. She comes closer and ever so slowly begins to pin the brooch over my heart. "And that's where it stays." She tells me quietly.

I nod, still incapable of speech. She pulls me into a hug which squeezes the breath out of me as a Peace Keeper opens the door. "Time's up!"

"Please come back, May!" Kaitlin whispers. "We love you!"

She pulls away and fresh tears fall down her face. She turns away and walks out of the room, hugging James sideways for comfort. She looks back and mouths something I can't quite catch but I don't mind. Knowing how much she cares is enough.

PeaceKeepers barge into the room, their guns hanging uselessly at their sides. "Up." Is all I'm told. So I stand. Then, each grasps one of my arms and holds it behind my back and escorts me out of the Justice Building and to the train station.

I take one last glance over my shoulder at my home before a Peace Keeper grabs my head roughly and shoves it forwards into the train. A searing pain runs down my neck and I wonder if they've injured me. It doesn't matter though; they'll throw me into the arena no matter what shape I'm in.

Rid of all emotion and feeling completely numb I struggle to break free of the Peace Keepers. Time stands still as I finally break away and run over to the window just to see the last of district twelve whisked out of sight. Time stays in perfect slow motion as the emotions start to flood my body. I am so full of sadness and longing that it all spills out through my eyes. I squeal through my sobs as a Peace Keeper wraps an arm around my waist and attempts to tug me away from the window.

A firm hand on my arm ceases my struggling and I turn to the person holding my arm. It's a Peace Keeper. Time resumes it's pacing and sound torments my ears. I realise that no one has an arm around my waist, I am not crying and, believe it or not, I'm not even standing at the window.

"Through here, Miss." The Peace Keeper tells me as he points down the hall. I nod and walk in the direction he is pointing. I glance back over my shoulder at the window and the blur of scenery racing past and wonder what happened to me. I shake myself out of it as I look back to the front. No! I must stay strong! I will not look like a weakling in front of all of Panem!

They escort me down a fancy hall with tinkling chandeliers and red carpet until we stop outside a door that reads: "District 12: Female 2, Maysilee Donner". I look back at the Peace Keepers before pushing my way uncertainly into my room.

I stop in surprise as my chandelier automatically clicks on and my eyes are greeted with a vision so Capitolised I almost faint. I have my own bathroom. The door is left open for me to see the huge shower and the bath with strange little taps that probably emit posh substances to clean your skin with. The bed is huge and looks very comfortable. The room is themed gold so everything is glittering gold including my bedspread and the cupboards. Buttons and remotes fill the room and I probably won't get to press all of them.

I slowly make my way further inside and glance over my shoulder to see if the Peace Keepers are still there but the hall is empty. I push the door shut cautiously and turn to look at my room again. Then a joy takes over me and I run to the bed, jump onto it nimbly and bounce up and down to see how comfortable it is. Then I jump off and run to the nearest button. I press it and then I press more and sprint around the room pressing all the buttons within reach laughing as I do, feeling giddy with excitement and stupidly free.

Drawers fly outwards and cupboards spring open and I feel like I could run forever without tiring. They are filled with so many different kinds of brightly coloured clothes that I can't even take it all in. Then, suddenly, as I make my way over to the cupboards to have a closer look, my knees give way and I end up sprawled on the red carpet with no strength to move or get up. A wave of sickness washes over me and I throw up all over the ground. Sides heaving with the effort I push myself up and walk into the bathroom and stand in front of the mirror and, hands gripping the sides of the sink, I vomit some more into the basin.

Looking up, I see my reflection. My golden hair is plastered to my forehead with sweat and my mouth has sick around it. My complexion is extremely pale and clammy and tears leak out of the corners of my eyes. It's now that I realise the sheer desperation of my situation. The vomiting stops and, still crying, I make an effort to wipe my eyes and my mouth and I walk back to the cupboards to get changed into something more comfortable than my mother's dress.

I peel it off and my heart aches as I lay the dress on my bed and see the tear where the sleeve of the dress should be. I pull on a pair of track pants and a jumper.

I flinch violently as Prinny's voice comes through a speaker hanging from the wall. "Will Haymitch Abernathy and Maysilee Donner please report to the dining carriage?"

I rush back to the bathroom and stand in front of a mirror. I jump again as another voice says, "You're looking a bit sweaty there dear let me help you!"

I look around to see who spoke but there's no one there. I only get a moment to be confused before a gust of warm air that tastes of salt and roses rushes past me and, just as suddenly as it had come, stops. I glance at myself in the mirror and I look fresh as if I had just had a shower and had my hair dried. My curls bounce up nicely and my face is smooth and clean and dry.

Smiling slightly and trying to make the best of a bad situation, I make my way out into the hall again and follow the sound of voices and the chinking of cutlery on plates.

I open a door and find myself in a long room with an extremely large table with about thirty seats around it; the other tributes and Twinkle are already sitting at the table eating. At the same time, Haymitch walks through the door opposite me and his features twist their way into a handsome smirk as he takes in the long table, the excessive amount of chairs and the mountains of food being set on the table. There is every single food that I have ever seen or heard of and more.

"Are we expecting company?" Haymitch asks ironically.

Prinny shoos him in the door from behind. "Of course not!" She stares at Haymitch like he could be her next meal and despite my situation I have to restrain myself from giggling. We sit down and start to serve ourselves dinner.

"So what's with all the decorations, Prinny? Don't you think they're a little over the top?" He asks, smirking at her reaction.

Prinny looks aghast. "Over the top? How dare you? These are real gold flowers that cost the Capitol a fortune!

"But what's the point?" He says matter-of-factly I stifle a giggle at the familiar twinkle in his eyes. "You're just going to kill us anyway."

Prinny thinks better of responding and instead, shakes her head at her plate. I look over and smile at Haymitch and he looks at me and smiles with his eyes but not with his mouth; it remains as impassive as ever. I lower my eyes to my plate and continue to eat.

Mouth-watering tomato sauce washes my mouth, sliding over my tongue. I crush a piece of pasta between my teeth, expecting it to be half raw but find it softly caves in at the slightest pressure from my teeth. I fight saliva and try not to let it run out of my mouth. I swallow hurriedly.

Glancing around, it looks as if the other tributes are having the same problem. Aster, the girl with the two brown braids, now has her hair out and flowing around her face, just like her mother's was. She is wearing a pink t-shirt with a love heart on the front and some short denim shorts and I realise with a jolt that she looks just as young up close as she did from a distance. She looks like she can't get enough and even as I watch her she continues to shovel down her mint-marinated lobster salad one mouthful after another.

Austen calmly lifts his spoon to his mouth and gasps as the hot, chicken soup burns his tongue but he continues to spoon it into his mouth despite the steam flowing from the top.

Haymitch scrapes his plate with his knife bringing my attention back to him and I notice that he is finished his lamb and is scraping the gravy onto his desert spoon with a knife. I have barely started my pasta and I chuckle as he reaches for the sushi in front of him. We're all so hungry.

Prinny and Twinkle sit next to each other making polite conversation but anyone could tell they are getting fed up with each other. Twinkle's eyes are looking even more sunken in than usual and all I want to do is ask him to go to bed but that would be disrespectful. He will go to bed when he's ready.

Prinny looks over at Haymitch. "Honey there's still desert to come, you know?"

Haymitch freezes mid-chew and a sick expression appears on his face. I giggle.

Deserts are served and about a thousand different kinds of custard and ice-cream and cakes and slices and wobbly things that I don't know the name of are placed in front of me.

I choose a decadent chocolate cake and pour chocolate custard over my chocolate ice-cream. I reach down and pull the waist-line of my pants out to make room for my bulging stomach. I swear I want nothing more than to ask if I can go to bed but I wait until Twinkle has finished his vanilla ice-cream with coloured sprinkles to ask. I have just opened my mouth to speak when Twinkle cuts in, "It's time for us to watch a recap of the reapings." His words are slurred from fatigue and I don't think he'll last until district two.

I groan inwardly but I see Aster glance at me and I smile reassuringly.

"What for?" Austen asks.

"To find out what you're up against, of course!" Prinny butts in with a wide grin before Twinkle can answer. He seems to suppress an eye-roll. He sighs and closes is mouth exaggeratedly with a loud click.

"Ok then." Haymitch says, looking from Prinny to Twinkle. "Let's get started!"

Prinny leads us all into the lounge carriage where large, soft-cushioned sofas furnish the room. They are decorated by red and gold trimming and draped with red and yellow blankets. A huge black rectangle hangs on the wall that the sofas are facing. It looks like the screen they show the presentation on at the reaping but I'm sure it's not a television.

"What are we watching them on?" Austen asks innocently and I stare at Prinny expectantly. She cocks her hip towards the black rectangle and presses a place on the red piece of glass she is holding. The rectangle comes to life and an apparently green man in a midnight blue suit is shown sitting on a stage by himself in a green chair to match his skin.

I sit down next to Aster on the sofa and turn back to the television feeling curiosity about the huge screen in front of me prick at the edge of my senses.

A closer inspection reveals that the man is not in fact green but has dark green star tattoos, green eye-shadow, green lipstick and green hair. As we watch, he introduces himself as Caesar Flickerman. Then it cuts to the reapings and the words "District one" appear on the screen.

"Kathleen Heithrow!"

A fourteen-year-old girl is called but as she makes her way slowly up to the stage, her head bowed and tears flowing down her cheeks, several eighteen-year-old girls shout, "I volunteer!"

Kathleen stops in relief and makes her way back to her spot in the fourteen-year-old's section.

Their escort points to one of the girls who called out and says, "You were first, dear, come on up!"

A girl with dark hair and eyes moves towards the stage; her eyes glint maliciously and she grins wickedly. The cameras flick to the faces of the girls who were denied entrance to the Hunger Games and disappointment is drawn all over their faces.

Her name is Millicent Fabian.

Another girl is called but is saved as another eighteen-year-old volunteers and makes her way to the stage. Somehow, she manages to look even more menacing than Millicent. Her blonde hair falls around her face and waves in the breeze with an air of almost cruel beauty. Her blue eyes sparkle with excitement and I shudder as I picture her eyes, blazing with enthusiasm as she swings an axe at a defenceless little boy. Her name is Holly Gaven.

Two boys volunteer. One is eighteen and one is seventeen. They are young, broad and strong looking as they stride through the crowd up onto the stage and introduce themselves as "Richard Jewjup" and "Johnny Valent" in low, confident voices.

District two's tributes are huge and dangerous looking, just like in District one.

District three has no volunteers and all of the tributes are under the age of fourteen. Before I can stop it, my heart goes out to my opponents.

District four produce large tributes (mainly volunteers) but none really stick out as a huge threat.

Aside from that, no others really stand out except for a twelve-year-old girl from Six "Henrietta Playbeck" and a thirteen year old boy from Seven "Derek Greenpath". Both had older siblings that were too old to volunteer and they had to watch on as their beloved brother or sister was reaped. The only other one that stuck in my head was a sixteen year old boy from Eight. His name was "Napier Goonshen". His eyes looked about ready to pop out of his head as they rolled about not focusing on anything. He looked like he was ready to throw an axe at anyone who approached him.

I jump as a large 'District Twelve" flashes up on the screen. I don't know if I want to see myself being reaped over again and most of all, I don't want to see my father getting shot again.

Austen, on my other side, feels me trembling and presses his arm close to mine to stop it from shaking. He leans over and whispers in my ear, "It's ok, Maysilee."

_I can look after myself thanks. Besides, you don't have to watch your father get shot!_

But instead I just nod.

I take a deep breath.

So we watch our reaping again until it is my turn. My name is called and my father yells out, insulting the Peace Keepers. I vaguely wonder if he has told the whole District about what really happened to my mother. I flinch as the gunshot that wounded my father sounds from the television.

I see myself, rushing to his side, tearing my dress to stop the bleeding, tears pouring down my face and smudging my make-up; I look like a wreck. And then the screen goes black but no one moves. We are all still sitting, staring at the screen, shock pulsing through us at having seen ourselves being reaped on television.

Twinkle's loud snort of alarm as his head flops onto his chest and he wakes up breaks the silence.

"So, everyone, who stood out to you?" He asks as if he'd been awake the whole time instead of snoring away in the corner.

I'm too drained to respond but Haymitch points out a few that I had noticed and I nod my agreement so that I don't have to speak. If I speak, my voice might shake from fatigue and stress. That would make me look weak.

Twinkle explains what a career pack is. "They're usually made up of the volunteer tributes from District one, two and four. They're all sickos and they make a pact before the games. It's hard to get in with them but if you make it in, you're safe until there are only the careers and a few others left."

I blink in surprise.

"Do District twelve tributes ever join the career pack?" Aster asks, the corners of her mouth sloped down in an expression of disgust.

"No." Twinkle says tiredly. And that's all he says.

There's a long, loud silence until finally, "Well, I'm off to bed! G'night everyone!" Haymitch stands up and saunters out of the room.

I sit still for a moment or two and then I follow him out of the door and down the hall to my room. I hear the others behind me so I stop in front of my door and turn to face them. Haymitch is already inside his own bedroom.

"Goodnight." Austen says quietly and opens his own door.

"Night." I reply and turn to Aster. "How are you feeling?"

I realise I know her from school and I feel a jolt when I realise in a few days we might be trying to kill each other.

"Same as everyone else here." She says simply. "Except for you, of course."

"Except for me?"

"You can win this. And you know you can. You're fearless."

"I'm not fearle –"

"Haymitch isn't supposed to make it out. Austen isn't supposed to make it out. And –" She takes a deep breath. "_I'm _not supposed to make it out. It's you. It's always been you. You're the one who will go home."

I listen in stunned silence. _What is she talking about? I'm tiny compared to the careers._ She seems to take my shocked silence as an agreement so she squeezes my arm gently and turns away. "Goodnight Maysilee."

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Hey everyone!**

**Sorry this chapter was sooooo short and... a little depressing and... deep... but I tried to add some Haymitch humour in there too! :(**

**So… tell me… are you attached to Aster yet? I am! And we're going to have to kill her off! :( Sad face! Mmmm… soooooo… can you guys please tell me what you think of the characters and you know just… the chapter all together? I'd love some constructive criticism too if you wouldn't mind. Reviews seriously make my day and Jasmine's day as well!**

**Anyway, thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!**

**Gemma (GoldenDiva)**


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